Finally, We Meet

I was new to town, and she was the first person I saw on the train. She dropped her lip gloss, but I was too distracted on gathering my thoughts and picking up my jaw to help her with it. Her soft brown eyes mesmerized my whole existence, her natural un-contoured nose matched the buttons on my levis button up. Me and her, we just belonged together. It didn’t make sense, but it was the expression I felt over the first person I had seen leading up to a terrible day before that train ride.

I sat on a bench after my train ride, thinking about that women who I let get away without mustering up a situation to be noticed by her. I began to wonder if she noticed me, with all the annoying nervous ticks I get during travel, as my mother so kindly has observed and shared during a family intervention. I paced outside the train station with the image of this stranger’s face in my head. I began to create live action manifestations in my mind with solely her beautiful face as reference. 

My new place was a few blocks up from the train station and couldn’t decide if I was hungry, or the butterfly’s in my stomach had caused havoc. Regardless, I was on a mission to find beer and pizza. That sounded better than letting the love of my life walk out a Chicago train station in the middle of January with a light sweater whilst it probably stormed outside. In fact, I once drank a whole bottle of tequila before an exam and called my professor an inappropriate word,  and was immediately dropped from that class. It was my last class before graduation, and that didn’t seem as bad as this day.                       

It was not storming outside during my walk around my new neighborhood, but it was quite windy. I found a pizza shop named Brizarre Pizza by Craig, it worked best because there was a liquor right next door. I quickly moved from Brizarre’s  with an extra large Brooklyn style, alfredo sauce, and pineapple Pizza towards the liquor  store. As I juggled the extra large pizza and my six pack of 805’s I reached into my pocket for my wallet. As I waited for the guy before me to pay with his rad leather jacket, a girl walks out an aisle with her beautiful long hair, being tucked away behind her ear.

“Mmm pizza! Smells like alfredo and pineapple.” She commented with the most genuine giggle.

 Before I could open my mouth, and pick up the wallet that I dropped when she knew my pizza order, I did the most embarrassing double take that almost cost me my pizza. She followed the young man with the rad leather jacket as he called her, “babe”. She just looked back and skipped over with her hand down as if she was the one who dropped my wallet, she was perfect. And I was an idiot because I let my train station soul mate, walk away--- again. 

I was starstruck when I saw her, it only felt more right. I knew that there was going to be a next time for us to meet again. I was distraught that the same women who I fell in love at the train station was the same women who knew my pizza order and she had someone else. I felt betrayed, and usually I was more logical, and less vulnerable. My appetite went away that night, and all I had was an 805 beer to show for a shitty Friday.

 I embarked five thought provoking days in bed, with her to blame for my mental exhaustion. I went to that same liquor twice a day and had walks every afternoon asking myself why the hell I was doing the most for this stranger from the train station.

My best bud from Los Angeles, Gene, called me to check up on why I hadn’t kept in touch. He was having horrible thoughts that I was taken in the train. Clearly no one wants me  enough to go through those extremes. Gene was a fool. But overall, Gene was an amazing fool because he was on the next flight to Chicago to help me settle down, finally.

Thursday came, and so did Gene, with a bottle of tequila. Although I did have a life to get to at eight in the morning, it was a little passed six in the evening and that meant I could entertain the idea of Gene getting twisted. After 8 shots in, we headed to Graftons Pub and Grill for buffalo chicken tenders and fries. It had been a couple months since I last had tequila and my stomach was turning inside out. I had rushed to the restroom to gather myself, meaning I threw up. I felt like an amateur, I was stuck in the restroom for about ten minutes until I remembered that a drunk Gene is still outside probably howling at pedestrians as they walk past him.

Walking out, I saw Gene in the distance sitting on the patio outside with the dumbest drunk man smile I have ever seen him do. He then proceeds to eagerly tell me, 

“Dan, call me cupid. Call me cupid, CALL ME CUPID RIGHT NOW!!” He shouted as I covered my ear and covered his mouth.

“CUPID!” I yelled.

Gene proceeded, “When you went to throw up the sixty dollars plus tax tequila bottle, Dan tequila isn’t cheap..—”

            “Gene can you plea—”

            “Okay Dan, as I sat here waiting for you to come back, I saw this girl come in for pick up and I was convinced that she was for you. And since I’m cupid, and you said it yourself, I stopped her before she left and got you a date! I think. But I have to go with you.”

My only response to Gene was laugh and question him no further. He ate his tenders with his eyes clothes and a quarter till 12, we wobbled home.

As expected, gene fell asleep on my mattress, legs up on a camping chair.

My curiosity wanted to find out if Gene really got a girl’s number for me, so I checked his recent calls. My first instinct was to get the number to cancel our supposed date; unfortunely I saw he had a name saved under “faguelka” and his phone died. I fell asleep with his phone on my hand.

It was Friday morning, Gene made me breakfast in mattress, and I waited until he brought up faguelka. I couldn’t wait for the topic to be brought up, so I went for it. 

“Gene? So, what happened to that girl and the plans you made for me? Did you get any details down, like her name, the place to meet, her correct number?”

Gene set his bacon down on this bagel and took a huge breath as if he was about to school me.

            “Listen Dan, we are good. I messaged her this morning to confirm plans and there is this Karaoke place called Sidekicks and we are so on for tonight at 7pm, so don’t be late.”

            “So her name is faguelka?” I said quietly with a giggle hoping it wasn’t true.

            “Dan you idiot, its Gabriela! Literally we played incoherent a thousand times.”

It was the best morning for me in my new place, I was so happy Gene came to town.

It was 6:15 pm and I was a 20 min train ride away from Sidekicks to meet Gene and this girl he found in the middle of the night. As I walked out the train, I see her. It was her again, wearing a light sweater and fluff beanie, and getting away. I had never seen so many people in the train station, just in my way! I called Gene and let him know that I was going to look for my train soulmate.

“Listen Dan, she isn’t even here yet just chase your haunting ghost and come by soon if you can’t find her .”

I took my eyes away for three mere seconds and I lost her, I paced back and forth for about ten minutes and thought to myself that I will see her again.

            I approached Sidekicks and began to think I was going crazy, I was dragging my coat on the ground and kicking rocks, defeated.

As I walk in the pub I don’t notice Gene, but the hair of a women sitting facing away from the door. I walk slowly towards her until Gene grabs me and pulls me to the side. My heart was racing, and it was going to jump out my body. 

“Gene I cant breath.”

“Dan, that’s the girl, with the long hair!”

Finally, like the squirrel that finally caught his acorn. I went up to her and tapped her shoulder and my finger went numb. She turned so graciously.

“Oh my god, you’re alfredo and pizza guy! Hi, I’m Gabriela.” And she went for a hug.

As I sat down in disbelief, I looked at Gene as he gave me thumbs up.

“Hi Gabriela, I’m Daniel, so nice to finally meet you.”

My next task was finding out who was rad guy in the leather jacket.